Subject to Change
by Khajit-Has-Wares
Summary: The amiable Cora Ainsworth (OC) makes friends with a reluctant Sweeney Todd. Rated M for Lemons. Some fluff as well.
1. Chapter 1

**Obviously, I do not own Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney Todd, or any of the original characters of 'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'. I only own my OC's.**

The pie shop on Fleet Street bustled with excitement as its owner, Mrs. Lovett, scurried from table to table. The aroma of perfectly seasoned meat filled the air, as well as the musky smell of ale and exercised bodies. Rowdy men laughed loudly and clanked tankards as they discussed their ventures. Their wives huddled close, to complain about their husband's latest mistakes. At the table nearest the exit sat the Ainsworth family, standing out with their fine clothes and well groomed hair. Mr. and Mrs. Ainsworth sat side by side and laughed as their two youngest boys, George and Leonard, dug into their favorite food with intent. Cora, the beautiful daughter of twenty-three, sat beside her brothers and watched, highly amused. Mrs. Aintsworth's father –Mr. Pearson- sat quietly, drinking gin.

The Ainsworth's were of great wealth and honor, and Mrs. Lovett treated them as such. Cora had become good friends with the woman, as her family often sent her on errands to the market on Fleet Street. It was refreshing to have an acquaintance outside of her family and their tight-knit circle of ingenuine friends. Lately, however, her friend was less inviting. Being a woman herself, she knew that it was a love affair that took her attention but she did not ask.

"'ow about 'nother round o' pies for the lov'ly fam'ly?" Mrs. Lovett proposed, giving a wink to Cora before calling out. "Toby! Six pies for Ainsworth!" She smiled to the family and lowered her voice, making it soft and comforting, "On the 'ouse, of course, my treat."

Mrs. Ainsworth grabbed Mrs. Lovett's hand and said "That is so generous, but we cannot accept, my husband will pay for everything we eat." She smiled at the woman, who was smirking back.

"If you wish," she soothed, "but my offer still stands."

* * *

At the end of the meal Mr. Pearson stood, wobbling as he kept his hands on the table. His drunken eyes blinked slowly as he exhaled deeply, Cora felt sick as his breath, wreaking of gin, hit her nose. "I-" he began but a burp interrupted his sentence, and then he continued, "I need a shave."

Mrs. Ainsworth sighed, and shook her head, "Father, you cannot drink so much. It is unbecoming." She scanned her surroundings to ensure that no one was watching the drunk old man make a fool of himself.

Her father grunted, and repeated with force, "I _need _a shave." He began to trip his way to the staircase that led to Sweeney Todd's Tonsorial Parlor. His hands grabbed at shouting shoulders and heads as he fought to keep himself upright.

"Goodness!" His daughter gasped as she watched the man, "Cora, please, accompany him." She commanded, obviously upset by the sight of her father so distraught.

Cora stood, smoothing out her blue silk skirts. She scurried to her grandfather and grabbed his hand. "Come, papa. We will see to it that you have the finest shave in London." This brought a smile to his face. She loved to humor the man, as he has had low spirits of late. The two walked toward the staircase and she looked again to her papa, "Have you ever met the barber? Mr. Todd?"

He shook his head slowly.

* * *

Cora knocked lightly on the door and opened it. The shop was spacious, a vanity and chair were before her, and beyond that was a large window with a beautiful view of the moon. She guided him to the chair and asked him to sit. She took in the rest of the room, feeling an odd sort of peace in the dated wallpaper and smudged window panes. On the vanity was a photograph of a beautiful lady and a baby. From the hall, a man appeared. There was a small smile on his face, but it did not seem true. His hair was black with an odd streak of grey, it was striking. Cora met his eyes, which were black and cold. She warmly introduced herself and her grandfather.

His response was polite but distant, he bowed his head and replied only, "Sweeney Todd."

Cora felt an odd warmth toward the mysterious man, but mostly she felt sadness toward whatever made him so miserable. Inwardly she laughed at herself. _You have known the man for two words, Cora. _

"I need a shave." Called the man in the chair, who was spinning himself in the barber chair. Mr. Todd swiftly stopped the spinning with his hand.

"Of course, sir." He nodded toward the man, grabbing a razor from the table and pulled the strop on his belt taut. His eyes drifted up to Cora, who had not moved. Their eyes met for a few moments and he held his razor up, pointing at her and then moving it slightly to the left. "There is a chair behind you." He whispered, his eyes never leaving her.

Cora broke the contact and walked to the chair. She sat straight, and watched the barber sharpen his razor on the strop. There was a small, repeating '_shlink_' as the piece of metal glided against the leather. His eyes observed the silver razor intently, flickering for a second to the girl watching from the corner, and then down to her grandfather. Sweeney covered Mr. Pearson's beard with a lather and began to skillfully remove the man's stubble. The shave lasted but a minute, and he handed his customer a rag to wipe the excess lather from his cheeks.

"My!" Cora gasped, "You are a master at your craft, Mr. Todd." She stood and walked to her grandfather, grabbing his arm gently, "Do you feel better, now?"

He responded with a grunt.

There was a moment of silence before she sighed upon her realization, "He left his money on the table."

Cora reached for her reticule but Sweeney touched her hand. Startled she looked up at the man, "No need, it was my pleasure." He politely nodded, "Your custom is always welcome, Mr. Pearson." He gave a separate nod toward the young woman, "Ms. Ainsworth."

She felt guilty and wanted to argue but her grandfather was antsy to return home. She gave the barber an apologetic smile, "Thank you, Mr. Todd." She turned back to the man on her arm and opened the door, "Let us get you home, papa."

**Reviews (critique and suggestions) welcome!**


	2. Chapter 2

Arms gently snakes around Cora's waist and pulls her back toward a hard chest. The chest heaves slowly as a hand moves her hair, exposing one side of her neck. Tingling breath inches from her shoulder, to her neck, to her ear. Warm lips capture her earlobe and teeth teasingly graze it. A tongue licks down to the sweet spot on her neck and swirls in circles. She lets out a shiver and a sigh. Two hands divide, one moves up to grasp one breast and the other moves down and cups her heated sex. A gasp releases as she leans back onto the hard chest - surrendering to it. Fingers tighten around her breast as another finger slips into the wet mound. Her eyes close as she let out another sigh.

* * *

Cora's eyes opened slowly as the sun shone onto her bed. She cursed the new day and stretched her arms above her head. Downstairs she could hear George and Leonard speaking as mother played the pianoforte and while he was not audible she knew father was reading the paper. Grandfather was silent, most likely drinking in the study. She slowly made her way to her armoire.

"Could night not be a minute longer?" She muttered as she worked herself into her walking dress of brown silk. Normally she would don her morning dress, eat some of the remaining toast from breakfast, and adjourn to the parlor. However, this day was a Sunday which meant she would be heading straight to the market to fetch whatever is on her mother's list. If not for Ms. Lot, Cora was sure that she would clean the home and cook the meals as well. At twenty-three she was something of a parasite on the family. While she could be married and running a home of her own, she spent her days with her parents who loved their daughter too much to ask for a loveless marriage. Considering they had wealth to spare they did not feel that she needed a marriage based on money. They were determined to wait until she had fallen in love, but that did not mean they were not counting the minutes until her suitor appeared.

"Good morning." She greeted the family that gathered in the parlor with a cheerful grin. Which was returned by all. She twirled toward her father and kissed his head. Mrs. Ainsworth stood from her instrument and watched her daughter before handing her the list.

"My dear, what is it that has you so blithe this morning?" She teased but she also felt a throng of hope that her daughter had possibly begun a courtship.

"Nothing, mother." She responded with a laugh, "The list?"

She handed the list to her daughter with suspicion in her eyes, "You need not hurry home, we haven't any immediate need for these groceries. Enjoy yourself and be back in the afternoon" The woman prayed that she would use this time to meet with whatever suitor had brought the smile to her face.

* * *

Venders stood by their wares and watched with keen eyes as the customers strolled past. They knew not to look away for a moment. As times were hard in London, the number of thieves increased tenfold. Thievery was no longer an activity saved for the common, homeless child. Many mothers felt it was the only way to receive food enough for their children. The Ainsworth family was a lucky one as they never had to worry about the price of the produce. They were one of a few so fortunate in London.

Cora hummed pleasantly as she promenaded down the street, stopping at the occasional booth to buy fruit, vegetables, meat, and sweets. Fidelio Overture filled her mind as she walked at a quick pace toward the apples.

"Oy!" Yelled Mr. Webb, yanking her from her blissful reverie, "Miz Cora, 'ow 'ave you fared this week?"

"It has been a pleasant one, Mr. Webb." She grabbed the deepest red apple from the pile and handed the man seven pence. "How is your wife? Is she still with child?"

"Aye, and not 'appy 'bout it neither."

Cora spotted Mrs. Lovett from afar and turned to the man, "I shall see you next week." Her skirts swished and swayed as she walked toward the woman who was inspecting the meat stand. "Mrs. Lovett." She began, "I have not seen you here in some time. I had it on good authority that you were avoiding me."

Mrs. Lovett turned and hugged the girl, "Of course not, dearest. I've just been so busy with the shop and with Mr. T. 'e is quite the 'andful."

"Mr. _Sweeney Todd_?" She asked, curiosity taking over, "He did not seem the high-maintenance type."

The woman's eyes widened, "You've met Mr. T? When'd ya meet 'im?"

"My grandfather needed a shave and he was too drunk to hold himself up so I accompanied him." A realization washed over her and she lowered her voice, "Goodness, are you two…?"

"'eavens, no." The baker responded with a small chuckle, "But perhaps one day…" She drifted off into a momentary day dream. "But Cora, I don't think you should spend much time with 'im. 'e is an odd one."

An amused grunt came from behind which caused both to flinch. The women turned quickly to see Sweeney standing before them. It seemed to Cora that he had not changed clothing since she had last seen him. But he did seem of slightly higher spirits, though his smile was nothing more than a tiny smirk. He was watching the young girl as he said, "I came only to tell Mrs. Lovett that she need not buy meat." His eyes drifted to Mrs. Lovett, "The shipment of fresh supplies arrived."

Cora exclaimed, "Thank heavens!" She lowered her voice so the owner of the booth would not be offended, "I should hope you never buy your meat from here, it is hardly the quality of your supplier."

Mr. Todd looked away and smiled. But this small show of emotion was wiped from his face when he spotted someone in the crowd. His angry eyes met with Cora's curious ones. He gave her a small, apologetic bow of the head and turned to walk briskly to his shop.

"Oh, dear." Mrs. Lovett sighed and shook her head, "There it is." She turned to the girl, "I'm sorry, love. He needs me." With that, the lady scurried up the steps and disappeared into the barber shop. Moments later she emerged, looking upset. She ran down the stairs and into her own shop.

Cora felt an urge to comfort the poor man who was overcome with emotion. Without thought her feet began to take her to him. Before she had thought of consequences she had knocked lightly on the door. It opened swiftly and Mr. Todd stood in the doorway, his sad, black eyes watched as Cora cowered where she stood. "I came here-" She cleared her throat, "I came to comfort you."

Sweeney gave out a righteous chortle.

"I see now that this was not wise." She stated, apologetically, and began to walk away. Mr. Todd's hand flew out and grabbed Cora's wrist. With a single motion he pulled her into the shop and closed the door behind him. She let out a surprised gasp and watched the man's face intently. He immediately let go and just watched her. He began to pace the room and mutter to himself. "Do you wish my absence?"

Sweeney looked back up at the girl and exhaled deeply. "Speak."

"Of?"

Annoyance overtook the man's features. "You said yourself you wish to comfort me._ Speak_."

Cora was silent as she walked to the barber chair. She sat and watched the man angrily pace. She nervously cleared her throat again and interlocked her fingers. With eyes that never left the barber, she began, softly, "Lift not the painted veil which those who live call life: though unreal shapes be pictured there, and it but mimic all we would believe with colors idly spread…"

Mr. Todd stopped pacing and watched the girl calmly recite the sonnet, his features were still distressed. "Don't stop." Sweeney whispered, somewhere between demand and plea.

She felt herself yearn for the man, she wanted to comfort him. She wanted to hold him and let him cry on her shoulder. But, for now, this would do. "behind, lurk Fear and Hope, twin Destinies; whoever weave their shadows, o'er the chasm, sightless and drear. I knew one who had lifted it – he sought, for his lost heart was tender, things to love, but found them not. Alas! Nor was there aught the world contains, the which he could approve. Through the unheeding many he did move, a splendor among shadows, a bright blot upon this gloomy scene, a spirit that strove for truth and like the preacher found it not."

The barber stood still and kept his gaze to the ground. "That is sad."

"It is." She replied softly, "You are not the only one who knows sadness." His head shot up and she stood from the chair. Scared that she had angered him, she put her hand on his shoulder. "I've known my share of hardship. I can help you." For a moment, there was no sound but the breathing of the two miserable souls. Their eyes connected and Cora felt the weight lift from Mr. Todd as he took in a deep breath. The vulnerability that Sweeney refused to ever feel was finally rushing out. He dropped his head, so that his forehead met with Cora's, and closed his eyes.

"Mr. T!" Mrs. Lovett rushed into the shop and stopped, mouth agape as she studied the two people who had just jumped apart from each other. "Whut's happenin'?"

"Miss Ainsworth was just leaving." Sweeney commanded, his voice was like stone a wall. She looked at him, with a pang of insult running through her, put a hand on Mrs. Lovett's shoulder, and scurried from the shop.


End file.
